The Football Forecast

Iceland v Austria – Match Report

Iceland, the smallest nation at Euro 2016, have advanced to the knockout stages of their first-ever major tournament after beating Austria 2-1 in Paris this evening.

Goals from Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Arnor Traustason mean the island nation ensured they progressed out of the group stages, being runner-ups in Group F to Hungary. The result means Iceland have set themselves up for a tie in the round of 16 against England in Nice on Monday, meanwhile, Austria finish bottom of the group and fall out of the competition at the first hurdle.

Bödvarsson opened the scoring for Iceland in the 18th minute, after slotting a right-footed shot past stuck-in-the-ground Austrian goalkeeper Robert Almer.

Austria could have put away an equaliser just minutes, as David Alaba was fouled in the box but Aleksandar Dragovic could only strike the left post from the resulting penalty.

Fifteen minutes after the interval and Austria did put the sides level. Alessandro Schopf received a pass from teammate Alaba, cut-away from the Iceland defender to roll it past ‘keeper’s Hannes Halldórsson far-post.

Austria could have taken the lead in the 72nd minute if it wasn’t for an exceptional save from Halldórsson after another Schopf strike, which looked all but likely to hit the back of the net.

With Austria needing the three points to qualify for the knockout stages, they didn’t leave anyone in their own half, allowing Iceland defensive midfielder to hit on the counter and slot-in fellow teammate Traustason to score on the stretch in the final minutes of stoppage time.

The result was Iceland’s first ever victory at a major tournament, having made their major tournament in France this summer and earning two 1-1 draws against Portugal and Hungary earlier this month.